Over two tough days of competition at the EDF Scotstoun Stadium, O’Connor, who took silver at Birmingham 2022 and is also a world indoor and outdoor silver medallist, finished with a total of 6569 points. England's Jade O’Dowda was second and Tori West of Australia third.

“I’ve waited so long for a gold medal to be hung around my neck, and I worked really hard over the last two days,” O’Connor said after emulating the achievement of Phil Beattie, who won 400m hurdles gold in Edinburgh in 1986 - the most recent Northern Ireland athlete to secure a Commonwealth Games gold in Athletics. 

“Yesterday was really tough. I found the whole day difficult. I suppose my expectations were very high coming in, and after day one I realised, ‘Hold on, you're at a championship here’.

“It's not all about huge points scores. It's about competing against these girls and trying to come out on top.

“I came out today and enjoyed it from the start. My mindset was a lot more positive.

“I enjoyed the long jump as much as I possibly could, the javelin was great, and I really enjoyed the 800 metres as well.”

Nigeria’s Goodness Nwachukwu retained her Women’s Discus Throw F42-44/F61-64 title in brilliant style, sealing success with a world record of 39.66 metres in the final round - beating her previous best from Birmingham 2022.

“My first throw and second throw were bad so I knew I had to get my third one or I was out of the competition,” Nwachukwu said.

“I threw 26 metres and I was ranked third. I said, ‘Now I have to calm down. The battle has started now, so I have to attack’.

“On the fourth throw, I attacked and moved into first position. The next one wasn't enough for me. I had to explode on the last throw.”

Scotland’s Melanie Woods won the opening race of the night, the Women’s 1500m T54 final, where the first lap featured a crash involving Mauritian racer Noemi Alphonse, which also ended the race of Australia's Eliza Ault-Connell.

Woods steered clear of the incident to cross the line first ahead of Nandini Sharma of Canada and England's Ellis Kottas, but the Canadian was later disqualified and, amid protests, the Medal Ceremony was delayed until Thursday. 

Gayle beats the cold to win gold

Jamaica's Tajay Gayle overcame an injury concern to win the Men’s Long Jump and give his nation their third gold medal of Glasgow 2026.

“My knee was giving me a bit of trouble out there, and the cold was also giving me a bit of trouble,” the 29-year-old said.

“I'm not sure where this came from because I was doing so fine for the past couple of weeks, and then leading up to the Commonwealth Games I started to feel a lot of restriction in my knee.

“I wasn't nervous, but I was concerned and worried. Still, I needed a gold for Jamaica, and I didn't want to hurt myself because the season isn't finished.

“Each time I get to represent my country, I want a gold medal, so I came here to do that.”

Sarah Mitton of Canada proved her class by retaining her Women’s Shot Put crown, while three-time Paralympic Shot Put medallist Aled Davies of Wales showed his versatility by securing back-to-back titles in the Men’s Discus Throw F42-44/F61-64.

“I've made a lot of changes over the last year or so, and I knew it would take time for them to come to fruition,” Davies said.

“I've taken a few steps backwards and I haven't actually been performing that well this year and I was lacking confidence.

“But over the last few weeks, my coach and I have tied up a few loose ends, and I remembered who I am and what I'm capable of. I'm just so happy I was able to produce my best performance on the stage that matters most.”